Sunday, August 1, 2010

Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)

"Hey, Dr. Jones, no time for love we've got company"

Prequel...yes. Sequel...yes. In the second of the George Lucas/Steven Spielberg movie franchise we find Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) in Shanghai at club Obi Wan. Really George? Where he is making a deal with with Chinese gangsters. He then meets the club singer Willie Scott, played by Spielberg's wife (Kate Capshaw), and during a botched deal uses her as cover and the two escape the club after an entertaining romp through the club with guns blazing. Enter Indy's sidekick, a little boy called Short Round. Short Round takes Indy and his newly found lady friend racing through the streets of Shanghai using a piece of wood to reach the gas pedal, the three eluding the gangsters run to the airport to catch a plane out. Only problem the plane is sabotaged by gangster cronies and the three have to use a blow up raft to parachute midway through the trip and land in India. Here the meet villagers who's children have been taken by a evil cult within the mountains using them as slave workers. The Shaman of the village blames the evil presence on three missing stones that were taken out of the village which possess some kind of mystical power. Indy, Shortround, and Willie embark on an adventure through the mountains in an attempt to free the children and retrieve the stones.

Now with "Temple of Doom" you either love it or you hate it. Me I love it. Its fun, fast paced, and a visual treat. While the darker of all the Indy films it still carries an abundance of humor. With great characters created by Lucas and Spielberg and a wonderful set locations, it is none the less awe inspiring. After watching this you want more, which Spielberg and Lucas did in 1989 with "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" and once again in 2008 in the very underrated "Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull". Indy is a hallmark of American cinema and one of Harrison Ford's best characters. It is my least favorite of the film franchise but I still love it and enjoy watching it every now and then and I highly recommend it if your in the mood for some good old-fashioned fun. 4/5-tom